Getting That Chance
by Zenelia
Summary: Jerome has moved on from Mara, and set his eyes on Nina. However, he's got some regrouping to do, as she's with Fabian. Will it work out for them? Let me explain before you judge the pairing.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Alright, peeps! We've got a new story. This one's being written for **Jeromeninalover**, who requested a JeromexNina story, since there wasn't one to be found. So here it is! Now, let me explain.** _I am a devout Fabina and Jara shipper. _**Don't let this confuse you. I'm writing this as an exercise of sorts - to see if I can pull off writing something I don't necessarily support/agree with/etc. It's to try and make me a better writer. And it's going to help me focus on other things. I don't mean to offend any Fabina or Jara shippers out there - this is for Jeromeninalover, who's really nice, and for me to work on my writing. I hope you all enjoy it anyways!

P.S. - For the sake of the story, I switched the Sibuna members up a bit. Jerome knows everything, but he was never directly connected to Rufus, and Alfie's in the dark. Mara and Mick are still as clueless as ever. Everything else is explained in the story.

**Disclaimers**: As awesome as Eugene Simon's hair is, I don't own anything HoA related. Sorry.

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><p>"I always hate the first day of a new term," Jerome complained to Alfie.<p>

"Why? Man, it's a new start! New grades! And most importantly, new classes to prank!" Alfie nearly fell over in a peal of laughter, but Jerome merely sighed.

"Perhaps. But nothing exciting ever happens here. I get bored with the mundane routine."

Alfie looked around. "Am I supposed to know what that means?"

Jerome shook his head and didn't answer. Instead, he walked off, leaving a confused Alfie behind. As he walked, he passed Mick and Mara. Once upon a time that picture would've bothered him. Not anymore, however. He figured that if Mara wanted to choose a pighead like Mick over him, then she wasn't truly worth is time. It'd hurt, at first, when he thought of it that way, but it was the truth.

No, his short-lived crush on Mara was long gone, and he was quite over her. He'd even moved on to a new target—Nina.

Contrary to what he told innocent Alfie, exciting things _did_ happen, and happen they had! The whole prom night ordeal was one proof—Sibuna the other. It was during those meetings and near-death/dangerous situations that his sights started to land on the American. She was smart—though Jerome didn't want to know if any of those brains were contributed by Rutter—, she was tough, and she didn't panic easily. No, she was perfect.

Except for one little problem—her science nerd of a boyfriend.

Most everyone in Anubis House had been happy when Fabian and Nina "FINALLY got together!", as Amber had put it. But Jerome wasn't. No, his plan had been riding on the fact that Rutter was too insecure to try and ask her out. Now that little Fabian had finally grown some muscle, Jerome was having to regroup.

Before, he was planning on Nina being heartbroken about Fabian not doing anything, and he'd be the gentle moral support as the only other male member of Sibuna. Then they'd get closer, and Jerome would be able to let it escalate from there on its own.

Now, he was still in the brainstorming process of a new plan. He'd thought of setting Rutter up on a false accusation that would make her mad enough at him to end it, but he couldn't find a good, plausible something to say Fabian did. Jerome wanted it to be believable, after all.

While he was figuring out his for-sure plan, he'd decided he was going to try to get closer to Nina, as friends for now.

Which is where he was headed—the student lounge, where he knew Nina would be while Rutter was in his silly advanced sciences class.

_Why do I always fall for girls who read?_ Jerome thought to himself as he spotted Nina, her long hair draped over her shoulder as she was leaned over a book. Jerome stood back and watched her for a moment, then walked over to her and stole her book.

"Hey! Jerome, what are you doing?" Nina protested, standing up and reaching for her book.

"Livening up your life a little. Why are you reading on a free period anyways?" he asked, making sure the book was still held out of her reach. That wasn't hard to manage, with his height, though Nina wasn't what you'd call short herself.

"Jerome," Nina said, giving him a look. When he just smirked back, she looked around and lowered her voice. "That's a _Sibuna_ book. Now give it back!"

Jerome thought about keeping it, but upon realizing the repercussions for him for keeping a Sibuna book from their unofficial leader, he handed it over. "Fine, I surrender. Sibuna needs it more than I."

Nina smiled as she took the book from him and stuffed it in her satchel bag. "Thanks. And you're right—we all need it. I think it might hold information about that other clue we found. I need to talk to Fabian about it when I see him next."

Jerome, who had been in a fairly good mood up to that point, felt his spirits sink. Why did she _always_ go running to Geek boy? It was about as bad as Mara was with Mick. But Nina and Fabian had been good chums since she got there, so Jerome was more used to it.

Didn't stop it from hurting, 'course, but the principle was still there.

"Well," he said, mulling it over in his mind. "Are you going to call a meeting soon? Sibuna isn't made up of just you and Fabian, you know."

Nina shot him a look at that—one that was puzzled, and a bit insulted. Jerome tried his best to hide the smirk he got from getting a rise out of her, but he had a feeling it was still there.

"I know Sibuna's bigger than the two of us—there's you, Amber, Patricia. And I'm not sure about the meeting—I need to see if there's anything to call a meeting about."

"Hmm." Jerome shrugged. "Whatever you think best, American." He knew calling her something like that would make her mad, but he wasn't in the best of moods anymore, so he figured it was okay.

"There's no need to be rude," he heard Nina say under her breath. He was going to ask her about it—catch her in the act—but he waved it off, walking away.

"Dumb, dumb, dumbarse!" He said to himself. "Why do I always do this to myself?"

"Why do you always do what to yourself, mate?"

Jerome rolled his eyes as Alfie's voice registered in his brain. He had just came out of the school, and supposed Alfie was there waiting on him, or milling about time during break.

"Nothing, Alfs. Nothing of consequence, anyways."

"Yeah, right. I can tell something's up. What is it? You can tell me, you know." Aflie jumped off the wall he had been sitting on, and stood in front of Jerome.

In reality, he knew Alfie was just worried—he was a good friend that way. But Jerome _really_ didn't want to talk to anyone just then, and sincerely thought about being polite when he ditched his roommate. When he couldn't think of anything nice, he gave up. "I know I can tell you. But I'm not going to. See you."

He saw the mild hurt look on Alfie's face before he walked off. He'd apologize and give him one of his DVDs that he saw Alfie eyeing, and all would be fine.

_I'm a bad friend. Huh._ It just hit him. He wasn't the best of friends. _Maybe if I were nicer, Nina would like me more? I wasn't exactly eager to be her friend when she first came—even started that food fight. . ._

It was that realization that really made him think it through. Maybe, just maybe, if he paid more attention to what he did, he'd have more of a chance. And he planned on getting that chance.

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><p><strong>AN**: Soo. Hopefully not all the chapters will be this short, though they're easier to write this way, so maybe that'd be best. I'm not sure yet. Please tell me what you think in a review! As this is an experimental story, I'm very nervous. And it's unbeta'd as of now - I have a beta for TNGA (next chapter will be up soon, promise!), but I don't want to overload her with two chaptered fics at once. So any mistakes are mine, sorry. Reviews make me happy. :]

-Zenelia*Sky


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** . . . Sorry. That's all I have to say, really. This was supposed to be up a while ago, but due to some . . . events, it made it impossible. I apologize. I'll also be explaining more on that later. Now, this chapter. . . More later, actually. Enjoy!

**disclaimer:** I don't own it.

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><p>White.<p>

Everything was—white.

Why was he seeing white? He couldn't remember. He didn't even know where he was. All he knew was something had happened to him.

"Jerome?"

That voice. His mind instantly conjured images of a pretty girl with long, dark blonde hair, and beautiful eyes.

"Jerome, are you okay?"

This time, a boy's voice. He was filled with a rage, a blind hatred. It willed him to turn his head towards the source of the talking. He struggled to open his heavy eyelids, but soon managed on sheer determination.

He was greeted with Nina, Fabian, and Patricia all standing over him. Amber was somewhere out of his line of vision, but he heard her talking to herself as she searched for something or other. Nina was leaning over him closest, her hand propped up on the bed. Fabian was right behind her, still looking concerned. Patricia was ever further, but she kept shooting him the surreptitious glances she used when she was curious or worried, but didn't want others to know.

Jerome blinked, clearing his eyes a bit more. His brows furrowed together as he tried to recall what had happened to him; try as he might, though, he kept getting a giant, scorching white _blank._ It was incredibly frustrating.

"Wh—" he tried, to no avail. He cleared his throat, swallowed, and tried again. "Wha—" His voice cracked again, and went. He suppressed an eye-roll, getting more annoyed that he couldn't communicate his confusion. Not to mention the splitting headache he was fast becoming aware of.

"Here," Nina said, reaching past him to get a glass of water that had been sitting on his night stand. She handed it to him, helping him keep steady when his hand shook. He found it hard to drink with the warmth of her hands on his, but he managed.

After he'd had his fill of water, he tried speaking again. "What happened?" His voice was still hoarse, but at least he was able to talk.

Nina looked to Fabian, who shrugged, his face slightly grim. _Good lord, Nina, you're our 'leader', not him! You don't need his permission for everything!_ Jerome thought, pinching his eyes closed. Some things were hard to watch.

"We were in the cellar, and. . . well, we were rushing to get out. I guess we just over shot the distance, and the fact that we were all trying to shove through the door at once, but you got hit on the head with the edge of the door. I'm not really sure how that worked, but that's what happened. You went unconscious, and just now woke up." Nina bit her lip after she was done speaking. "Does your head hurt?"

Jerome opened his eyes again, and gave her a toned stare. A stare that said 'what do you think?' He said, "Yes, it does. Can I have some ibuprofen? Or some type of medication?"

"No, you can't," Amber said, coming up to the bed to stand beside Patricia. "That's what I've been looking up, mhmm. See?" She shoved a book in his face, which he tried to jerk his face from. "It says after a severe head injury, one should lie with their head raised, and be kept awake for at least 6 hours. If bleeding, swelling, or an internal bump persists, one should seek immediate consultation of a doctor. If a person stays unconscious for more than 3 hours, a hospital visit should be in order." Amber snapped the book shut with a relish and flounced off. "And people call me a dumb blonde. I know what I'm talking about!"

Nina looked down, but Jerome was able to see the hint of an exasperated grin on her face. "I don't know if Jerome's injury would be classified as 'severe'. I think he only passed out because he fell so hard. But we'll all keep an eye on him."

Fabian shuffled his feet. "Nina—I think we might want to set up a shift system or something. I know Mick's going to get suspicious if I don't come back to the dorm at all tonight, and we don't want Mara guessing; she's cleverer than Mick."

Nina nodded. "Alright. You and Patricia can go back to bed, then, and Amber and I will wait on Jerome. If we need you guys, we'll call your phones."

Patricia made to leave as soon as she could, giving a wave at Jerome. Fabian leant over to give Nina a small peck on the lips, and then he too was gone.

Jerome closed his eyes, wanting to go back to sleep. His head was pounding, and he was getting frustrated with _still_ not knowing what happened. (Though he figured he could just ask, but he was Jerome Clarke, and that's not how he worked most of the time.)

"Nina?" Amber's voice drifted across the room to both Nina and Jerome.

"Yeah?"

"Can I go up to bed? I'm really tired, and I even looked in a book and everything! And if Victor or Trudy do bed-checks, one of us will need to be there, to cover for the other." Amber yawned, as if to emphasize her point, and made for the door.

Nina, seeing that the blonde was going to leave no matter what, just sighed and said, "Sure, go on."

"Yay! I get to sleep. I _love_ sleep." Amber left.

Jerome closed his eyes again, ready to get comfortable now that it was just him and Nina. . . Wait. Where was he, anyways? Alfie would be in the room with them, if he were in his bed.

"Jerome," Nina said, coming to lean over him again. "You can't go to sleep. Even though Amber went a bit over-board with her explanation, she was right—we need to keep you up for a little while to make sure you don't go into a coma."

He peeled open an eye-lid. "Fine." He opened his eyes in earnest, and sat up to the best of his abilities, mildly surprised that Nina let him. "Where's Alfie?" Jerome asked, after discerning that he was, in fact, in his own room. He just hadn't recognized it. (Though, to be fair, his brain was a bit muddled after his head injury.)

"Trudy's got him in the living room for the night—something about not wanting you to be disturbed. But don't worry; he just thinks you fell after getting up for a glass of water or something, and that we'd all heard you and came down to see what was going on."

Jerome nodded. "Well that's good. Though I don't think Alfie would begin guessing about anything that's been going on anyways. He's too clueless."

"I suppose." Nina turned away from him then, looking across at the door.

Jerome took the opportunity to just look at her. She was pretty, no doubt. And there was that slightly exotic air about her, just because she was from another country. _Damn her boyfriend._

Three hours later saw the two sitting on the bed, searching through the internet. Jerome had shown Nina some of his favorite web haunts, a few of which Nina shared herself. She showed him a few sites, including the one for her gran's bed and breakfast, where she lived. It was interesting, and Jerome thought it very nice to be able to just sit and chill with her, with no one else around, and no threat of anyone coming in.

Someone knocked on the door, and then Fabian came in immediately after. _Or I'd thought there was no threat of interruption. . ._ Jerome thought bitterly.

"Hey," Nina said, getting up and giving Fabian a hug. "I thought you were asleep?"

"I was, yeah. But I'd decided to come and see if you wanted to switch shifts and get some sleep." He smiled at her, the grin fading as he caught Jerome's narrowed eyes.

"Aw, that's sweet. We were fine, but I won't deny a chance at sleep. Thanks, Fabian. See you two in the morning," she called, grabbing her phone off of Jerome's bed-stand and leaving quietly. Even in the silence and with her caution, Jerome was able to hear her creep up the stairs.

Fabian turned to the blond. "Have you slept at all yet?"

Barely suppressing an eye-roll, he answered, "Not since I woke up initially."

Fabian nodded, looking a tad wary at Jerome's shift in attitude. "You could probably do with some sleep now, then. I'll be sure to wake you up periodically to be safe."

Huffing slightly, Jerome turned on his side so he didn't have to look at Rutter, and settled to sleep, clinging on to the moment he'd spent with Nina before drifting off. His last thought was, _Man, why've I turned into such a girl over. . . a girl? But she is special . . ._

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><p><strong>AN**: I know this might seem left-field, but there's a purpose to it, really. It just doesn't seem like it now. Trust the author, and all that. This is as yet unbeta'd (I got one offer, and I need to reply, but . . . Yeah, things are weird right now), but any one else can still offer. I also didn't proof it as well as I might have, due to limited time. Sorry.

Now. . . Last Wednesday (April 27th), a tornado swept through my town. It. . . basically destroyed everything. They're saying it's almost as bad as when Katrina hit New Orleans. I lost internet, and it's just been a mess. So I'm in a bit of a disarray right now. I'm trying to get back up and running. :] Please send your condolences! There's been at least 8 confirmed deaths, and several missing. Thanks!

Reviews make me happy. :]

-Zenelia*Sky


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